Stars Aligned
by merder32
Summary: An 11x20 fix-it one-shot. "When we are aligned with love, the stars align with us." What if, instead of being star-crossed, Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd's stars had actually been aligned?


**A/N: There is only one reason for writing this story – to repair my broken heart and hopefully, yours too. I kept wondering what things would have been like if 11x21 had never showcased the incidents it did, and this story was the product of all that wondering :)** **Hope you enjoy my happy version of MerDer...**

* * *

" _When we are aligned with love, the stars align with us." - Marianne Williamson_

Life keeps throwing curve-balls in our way, and no matter how much we try to do the right things and get the right results, our life keeps getting messed up. But sometimes, things are not as messed up as they seem to be. Sometimes, when stars align, we get another chance at the life we wanted to live.

Meredith sat on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor, her head buzzing. She had no idea what she was going to do. It had been twenty hours since she had received the call from the White House, telling her that Derek had not arrived for his meeting.

She had been trying to call Derek ever since, but it kept going to voice-mail. She had so easily reasoned with Amelia earlier that Derek had not arrived in D.C. probably because his flight was late.

But now, after twenty hours of agonizing worry and receiving Derek's voice-mail, her own reasons seemed pointless to her.

Her thoughts were all over the place, tension over Derek's whereabouts and her feelings over the recent news that she had received – both serving to frazzle her mind.

She remained seated on the bathroom floor of her house for a few more long minutes, before she realized that she should get up and go out of the bathroom. She had been in there for quite a while now, and Zola and Bailey were alone in the playroom.

She did not need Zola to think that something had happened to Mommy and have her call 911, because that would be awful. She did not need to scare her little girl like that.

So, she pulled herself up to her feet and unlocked the door of the bathroom. Stepping out, she walked over to the bedside table and picked up her phone to dial Derek's number once more.

Placing the phone against her ear, she walked out of the bedroom and down the corridor.

" _Hi, you have reached Derek Shepherd. If I am not picking up your call, it's probably because I can't right now. Please leave a message and I'll call you back as soon as I can."_

Meredith exhaled in frustration and shut the phone. She reached the playroom, and saw that the door was ajar. Peeping in, she saw Zola and Bailey playing with the blocks.

For a moment, she just stood there, taking in the sight of her beautiful little family in front of her. Her heart swelled up with love and adoration as she watched her two perfect children at play.

No wonder Derek wanted another baby. Zola and Bailey were so perfect; the thought of having another perfect little one was obviously very appealing.

Yes, it would be difficult with three kids and their jobs, but who cared? They could make it work. As long as all of them were together, they could always make it work.

Her eyes watered as she watched Zola reach out to her younger brother and soothe him, consoling him for his broken Lego tower. It was marvellous how much Zola had matured at such a young age, consoling Bailey like that when she herself was a tender little girl.

Meredith could already picture another little girl or boy with them, having Derek's face and hair, and her eyes. The mental image of the trio growing up together, going on fishing trips with their Dad, having bike races and pillow fights, playing tag with each other and so on, made her tears flow freely down her cheeks.

She quickly wiped away her tears, chiding herself mentally for them. She had completely turned into a sap, and Cristina would have killed her for crying over such a silly thing. But Meredith's emotions were getting the better of her.

She entered the playroom after drying her tears, smiling as Zola looked up at her. "Mommy, where you been? I waited and waited for you to come; I wanted to show you something." Zola said with an adorable little pout.

Meredith kneeled down on the floor next to her, and said in a gentle voice, "Sorry, baby. I was taking a shower. But I am here now, so can you show me what you wanted to show?"

Zola, however, did not relent. "No. I can't show it to you alone. I want to show it to you and Daddy together. Where is Daddy?" She asked in her childlike voice.

Meredith's eyes started to water again at her daughter's innocent question. Where was Daddy, Zola had asked. How could Meredith tell Zola that she herself did not know where her Daddy was?

Her throat constricted as all kinds of horrible thoughts began to cloud her head. She enveloped both her children in a tight hug as a response to Zola's question, gaining strength from them. She had never believed in God, but today for the first time in her life, she prayed.

She prayed to whoever was up there, to keep her husband safe. She prayed not to let the horrible thoughts she was having at the moment come true. She and her kids needed Derek in their life; he could not be taken away from them just yet.

Bailey pulled back from the hug and looked up at her. He noticed the tears that had started to flow and brought his tiny hand to her face to wipe them away. "Don't cry, mama," he said in his lisped speech.

Meredith smiled down at her boy despite herself, and her heart was touched by his small gesture. Zola pulled back too, and frowned. "Why are you crying Mommy? Coz I asked 'bout Daddy?"

Meredith tried to formulate a believable answer for her kids. She could not tell them what was actually going on.

"No, honey. I was not crying. Just, something went in my eye. Daddy, he will be back soon. Before you even know it." She tried to comfort her children with the words, silently hoping that what she was saying was not a lie.

Bailey seemed contented with the answer but Zola wasn't. Even at an age of five years, she could understand when her mother was upset. She, however, did not push the topic and Meredith was grateful for it.

Meredith wanted to stay with the kids, locking herself away from all the worries that were waiting for her outside. But she knew she couldn't do that. She had to try and call Derek again, and she had to start taking necessary steps. Prepare herself for calling the police if Derek was missing for 24 hours.

She left the kids to play, and went outside into the living room. Plopping down on the couch, she began to type Derek's number on her phone again. Her head was swarming with a million thoughts, and none of them were pleasant.

As she put the phone to her ear, preparing herself to hear Derek's voice on his voicemail once more, she began to think about what she should do.

Should she call Amelia before she called the police? Amelia knew that Derek was missing, and it was fair to let Amelia know before calling the cops. After all, Amelia was Derek's sister; she had a right to know.

However, Meredith was snapped out of her thoughts when instead of Derek's voicemail, Derek's warm voice greeted her from the other end.

Meredith froze, in shock and relief. She had been so mentally prepared to be answered by his machine that she could not believe that Derek had actually picked up the phone. In all her astonishment, she even forgot that she had to talk to him.

"Hello? Meredith? Are you there?"

Regaining her senses, Meredith quickly spoke up, her heart beating faster than an express train.

"Derek? Are you okay? Where are you? I have been trying to call you all day, why weren't you picking up your phone? God, I was so worried about you, do you have any idea? And you didn't answer my question. You are okay, aren't you? You are not hurt or something, right? Derek –"

Derek cut in before she could say anything else. "Meredith, calm down. I am completely fine. Nothing has happened to me. I am coming back home, I will tell you everything when I get there."

Meredith could finally breathe properly. All day, she had this huge load on her chest that had been restricting her breathing. Now that she knew that her husband was okay and was coming back home to her, her breathing had eased.

"Okay. Okay, I am waiting for you. Come back soon." She said in a shaky voice and then disconnected the call.

Meredith Grey had never believed in God before, but today she might just say that God exists. Just today, because her prayer had been answered. Her husband was safe and he was coming back home to her. Her stars had really been aligned tonight.

" _Stay here. Wait for me. Don't move."_ He had said before he left. Meredith was waiting for him, and she had the relief of knowing that her wait would end soon.

* * *

The doorbell rang and Meredith rushed to answer the door, hope coursing through her veins as her heart pounded in her rib cage.

In her haste, she fumbled to open the door. "Damn it," she cursed under her breath as she tried to get the door to open as soon as she could. Finally, she managed to open the door and she swung it open, her jaw dropping at the sight in front of her.

Derek stood in front of her, completely exhausted but physically unharmed. His clothes were dirty, like he had been on the road for a long time. His face was sweaty and greasy too, and he looked bushed. But other than that, he seemed to be just fine.

Without thinking, Meredith flung her arms around his neck and hugged him as tightly as she could. She had thought that she had lost him forever, that she would never be able to wrap her arms around him again. Now that he was here, she never wanted to let him go.

Derek lifted his arms to return the hug. He knew his wife had been worried about his safety, and he hated himself for putting her through such a situation, but his hands had been tied.

"Derek..." Meredith whispered, tears leaking from the corner of her eyes as all the emotional strain and exhaustion finally took a toll on her. She could not thank her stars enough for keeping her husband safe and alive today.

Both of them stood that way, in each other's arms for what felt like an endless moment in time. Time ceased for them as they stood, both of them relieved to share the closeness that they had thought was lost forever.

After the longest moment, Meredith let go of her husband and remembering his fraught condition, quickly ushered him inside.

Derek slumped down on the couch as Meredith went into the kitchen to fetch a glass of water.

She wanted to know what had happened, why Derek had been missing for almost a day and why had he not picked up his phone, but all that could wait. He was home completely okay and that was the most important thing. Everything else was trivial and could wait.

Meredith gave the water to him and then sat down beside him, waiting for him to say something first. She did not want to badger him with a barrage of questions, especially when he was so visibly tired.

Derek swallowed the water in almost one gulp and set the glass down. He closed his eyes for a beat, before opening them again and looking at her.

"I know you were worried, Mer. But believe me, I had no other choice. I was going to –"

Meredith cut his sentence short. "Shh, you don't have to explain anything right now. I want to know where you have been all day, but I can wait. You are exhausted; you should go and freshen up. I'll order something for dinner and after dinner is over, we can talk."

Derek smiled at his wife, amazed at how well she understood him. He leaned forward slightly and pressed his lips against hers in a light yet loving kiss.

Meredith pressed her lips back against his, relishing the feeling of his lips on her. Today, she had thought that she had lost him forever and she would never get the chance to kiss him like this again.

She couldn't be more grateful to whoever was watching over them, for giving her the chance to kiss her husband again.

She moved closer to his body and started to deepen the kiss but their kiss was broken abruptly by Zola's squeal of joy.

"Daddy!" Zola came running into the living room and jumped onto the couch and threw herself in her father's arms.

She wrapped her little arms around her father's neck and planted a big kiss on Derek's cheek. "I missed you so much today Daddy. Where did ya go?"

"Daddy had to go for work, sweetie. But he is back now."

Zola nodded her head and then started, "I had so much fun in school today. I have to tell you all about it, Daddy. Miss Cowen taught us how to..."

As Zola chattered on and on about her activities in school that day, Bailey too came from the playroom and seated himself between Meredith and Derek.

Meredith rested her head on the couch as she watched Zola talk animatedly to her father, with Bailey joining in at times.

As Meredith Grey looked at her complete family at that moment, she couldn't help but feel thankful for what she had. She whispered a silent thank you to her stars for not taking away her family's happiness from her that day.

* * *

Derek laid in bed after dinner was over, the long day and its exhaustion coming down in full force.

But in spite of being tired to his bones, he couldn't stop the small smile from coming to his face when he felt his wife's arms snake around his torso as she lay down beside him.

He turned around to face her, and draped one arm around her back to pull her closer to him. She did not resist and melted into his frame. She shifted her head closer to his chest and said, "So, you were gonna tell me what happened today?"

Derek sighed. "Yeah. Well, I was late for my flight and so I decided to take a shortcut to the airport. But on the way, a car broadsided another car, sending both the cars flipping in the air. I was right behind those two cars."

Meredith gasped and pulled back. "What? Derek, why didn't you tell me before? Were you hurt in some way? You look fine from outside but you could have internal injuries, you know. You are a doctor; you don't need me to tell you this. Did you –"

"Meredith, my car was not hit. I am absolutely fine. Believe me, I wouldn't have been remiss about my health. I would never do that to you and the kids."

Meredith seemed satisfied with his answer, even though she had lingering worries in her mind. Derek continued on.

"I got out of the car to help the people injured in the crash, and there were three kids and a mom who were injured in the crash. The father was spot dead, so I knew I had to save the life of the remaining four. Luckily, help arrived sooner than I had expected and they were taken to the nearby hospital.

I followed them in my car because I couldn't just let them go without seeing them through. The boy had a massive head trauma, and the neurosurgeon at the hospital was unavailable. So I talked with the admin and got privileges as a visiting doctor at the hospital. I was busy operating on the boy, that is why my phone kept going to voicemail.

After the surgery was over, I got in my car and was driving straight back home when you called. That is where I was all day." Derek concluded.

Meredith just stared at her husband, unable to believe how incredibly lucky he had been. He witnessed the car crash in front of his eyes, he could have been injured too but he wasn't. Both of them had been incredibly lucky that day and it could only be fate.

She was also amazed at how compassionate Derek was; he had given up his own meeting to see the victims through. If he hadn't done that, the boy would probably have been dead.

"Was the surgery successful?" She asked in a low voice.

"Yes. Yes it was. I saved him, Mer." Meredith couldn't take her eyes off the gleam in his eyes when he said that. The way his whole face brightened up when he said that made her forget all about the day she had. Her husband was really freaking amazing.

"Yes you did." She replied back as she mirrored the happiness on his face. She sighed happily and placed her head closer to his chest again, wondering if this was the right time to tell him.

After the day they both had had, he would be ecstatic to get the news, wouldn't he?

"What are you thinking about?" Derek's deep voice rumbled in his chest and the reverberations were a welcome gift for her ears. She had thought that she was never going to hear his voice again.

"How did you know that I was thinking about something?"Meredith answered his question with a question of her own, stalling to give him the news.

Derek chuckled, his low voice reverberating in the quiet bedroom. "I know you like the back of my hand, Mer. You get all quiet and sober when you are thinking hard about something. Now tell me what you were thinking about."

Meredith looked deep into his eyes, before getting up from the bed. She extricated herself from his arms, causing him to frown.

"Where are you going?"Derek asked with a curious voice.

"Be right back," was all she said as she slipped out of bed and made her way towards the bathroom. She went inside and flipped on the lights.

She grabbed the thing she was looking for, and for a moment, she stared at it. Earlier, when she didn't know about Derek's whereabouts, she had assumed the worst about Derek's condition. Yet, she had kept this in the faint hope that maybe he would be all right and then she could show him.

Maybe it was fate that had willed her to keep it, she did not know. It was probably unhygienic too, but she did not care. All she cared about was the look on her husband's face when she showed him.

She switched off the lights and came out of the bathroom, clasping it in her hand. On coming out, she found Derek sitting up on the bed, his piercing blue eyes full of curiosity and confusion.

She looked into his eyes, and she couldn't hold it back anymore. Tears, of joy and relief, warm, glorious relief, welled up in her eyes as she made her way back towards the bed.

As she came and sat down on the bed, Derek noticed her moist eyes and his brows were immediately pulled together in a frown.

"Mer, are you crying? Why are you crying? What's wrong?"He asked, his voice full of concern.

"Nothing is wrong. I am crying because I am happy. And I know that I don't cry when I am happy, but it's one of the side effects."

"Side effects? Side effects of what?"Derek was perplexed to the uttermost. He couldn't figure out why Meredith was being so cryptic.

"Side effects of this..."Meredith held it up for him to see.

Derek's eyes widened at first and then the brightest smile she had ever seen spread across his face. His mouth opened a little as he looked at the positive results of the pregnancy test.

"You are pregnant?" He all but squealed like a little boy who had just opened his Christmas present and seen that he had received his long-wanted game.

"Well, I guess that is what a positive pregnancy test means." Meredith mocked with a giggle, her heart filled with overwhelming ecstasy.

"Meredith...We are gonna have another baby!"He exclaimed as he pulled her in his arms.

"We are gonna have another baby."Meredith echoed his words as their lips collided together. Their lips melded together in perfect harmony, their tongues dancing together in their unique rhythm.

Finally, Derek pulled back for air and with a wide grin, he said, "See, I got you knocked up so fast. You were so worried about your hostile uterus, but I told you that I had magic swimmers." He said with pride.

Meredith laughed out loud at his remark, and then added, "You do have magic swimmers. Excellent job, Daddy."

Their laughter rang out throughout the house and probably through the entire country. Tonight, none were happier than Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd because their stars were aligned.

Derek pulled Meredith down on the bed, as he kissed her once more. "So, are you ready for some celebratory sex, Mrs. Shepherd?"

"Whatever you say Mr. Shepherd."Meredith threw back as Derek started peppering kisses down the column of her neck.

Their laughter soon turned into passionate moans as their bodies reunited with their soul-burning passion. Derek littered her body with kisses, letting his tongue loose on her entire body, making her moan loudly. His tongue and mouth worked Meredith's desire up to a heated frenzy.

As Derek slipped inside her, two bodies, two hearts, two souls joined together in such a perfect harmony that they became one and the same.

* * *

After two heated rounds of celebratory lovemaking, Meredith and Derek lay in each other's arms, sated and spent. They had put their clothes back on, just in case the kids popped in. Both of them had wide smiles on their faces as they basked in the afterglow of the news and the lovemaking.

"We are so lucky, aren't we? We have everything that we ever wanted."Meredith remarked, voicing her happiness.

"Hmm...I could die right now and I would die as the happiest man on earth."Derek replied.

Meredith immediately looked up at him. "Don't say that again, Derek. Don't talk about dying. You can't die and leave me and our kids alone. You have promised me a 110 years and I am not about to settle for less."

Derek brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear as he said, "I will make good on my promise to you. I don't want to leave you and our kids alone either."

"You better keep your promise or I will hunt you down in heaven and exact my vengeance."She told him sternly.

"I better not break my promise then." He replied with a laugh. Meredith rested her head on his chest again, her mind at peace now.

However, a soft tap on the door made both of them look up. Seconds later, Zola peeped in, her innocent brown eyes shining with excitement.

"ZoZo, honey, what are you doing up so late at night? You are supposed to be asleep."Meredith asked gently.

Zola walked inside their bedroom and climbed into the bed. She snuggled between Meredith and Derek and then looked up at them. She held a piece of art paper in her hand.

Derek looked curiously at his daughter and then looked back at his wife. Meredith looked just as perplexed as him.

"Mommy, I told you that I wanted to show something to you and Daddy together. Well here it is."Zola held out the art paper in front of them for them to see.

Meredith and Derek looked at the drawing made with crayons, and a Cheshire cat grin spread on both their faces.

On the art paper, there was the figure of a fair-haired woman labelled as 'Mommy' and a dark-haired man labelled as 'Daddy.' A little girl was holding the man's hand and she was labelled as 'Me.' Another fair-haired toddler was holding both the girl and the woman's hand. He was labelled as 'Bailey.'

But that was not the most striking feature of the drawing. In the woman's arms, there was a small baby, who looked about a few months old. The baby was labelled as 'New Sis.'

Derek and Meredith looked at each other in surprise and then looked back at their daughter who was smiling.

Before they could say anything, Zola started, "Lisa in my school had a new sister named Shelby. Her mommy brought Shelby to school today and she was soooooo cute. Lisa was showing her new sister off to everyone. I want a new sister to show off too. Bails is all grown up now and is not cute like a baby anymore. I want a new cute little baby sister with chubby cheeks to show off too. Pleeeease, Mommy."Zola pleaded innocently.

Meredith giggled as Derek pulled Zola between them, laughing in astonishment at her daughter's unintentional telepathy.

"Well, princess," Derek started,"since you said please, I and Mommy will give a new sister."

Meredith chimed in "Or brother" with a smile.

Zola scrunched up her nose just like Meredith and said, "No, I don't want a brother. I already have Bails, I want a sister now. Besides, brothers are not as cool and nice as sisters."

Derek nodded his head in agreement and said, "True to the point."

Meredith laughed at father and daughter's solidarity and said, "What if we have a boy?"

"Then we will give him to someone else and try again."Derek answered nonchalantly.

Meredith laughed and gasped as she slapped him playfully on the arm. "Derekkk..."

"Daddy is right Mommy. No brother, only sister. Bailey steals all my toys, brothers not nice."

Derek and Meredith laughed at Zola's innocent remark and Derek started tickling Zola. The trio's laughter rang all around the house as a verbal declaration of their happiness.

The house echoed with happy giggles and joyous temperament as somewhere in the distant sky, three stars aligned together in celestial celebration.

Tonight, none were happier than Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd, and even the sky and the stars were celebrating with them, partaking in their happiness.

 **See the stars align and you know it's all for you**

 **Down were you before, now you come alive for this**

 **See the stars align, see the stars align**

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 **A/N: There you have it. My first attempt at writing fluff, and writing this proved to be very therapeutic for me. This helped me a lot to forget the horrible thing that happened on the show, and I hope it helps you too.**

 **Let me know your thoughts on this. I'd love to know if this helped you in this difficult time, and even if it didn't, I'd still love to hear what you guys think :)**


End file.
